


The Best Presents are the Ones You Give Yourself

by lovehugsandcandy



Category: Ride or Die (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 12:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19812313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovehugsandcandy/pseuds/lovehugsandcandy
Summary: “I’ll come for you if you just stay where you are.” - “Outnumbered, Dermot Kennedy





	The Best Presents are the Ones You Give Yourself

Ellie rang the door bell, brushing the invisible lint from her skirt for the third time. It had taken so long to get here. She wanted everything to be perfect.

The door opened to a beaming face. “Ellie!” He quickly wrapped her in a hug, solid and comforting. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.” She followed him into the house, trying not to remember the last time she was here. It had been almost two years so she was hoping the memories would have faded. It was hopeless. Her last time here was engraved on her mind; she would never forget this house or what it meant to her.

It had taken so long to figure out the right series of steps leading to today. Mina, her Langston roommate, was a pro at internet stalking (”Sleuthing, Ellie, it’s sleuthing!” she would exclaim after late nights of searching and scheming and laughing). However, you still needed information to find someone; Mina could track someone down with three unique pieces of info (”Get me a full name, a birth date, and where they were born. I can find them.”). But Ellie didn’t even have a full name. She had a first name, a birthplace, and make and model of a stolen car he called his own. She even had a fourth piece, the location where he disappeared into the night, breaking her heart. As amazing as she was, Mina couldn’t do much with that.

The inspiration hit during the beginning of her sophomore year, almost when she had given up, a year of no contact and no word had her on the cusp of losing hope. It was one morning, fall sun rising in the sky through the dorm windows, when she realized that maybe she didn’t need to track him at all. Maybe she just needed to track someone who could track him. A name, a birthplace, and a small business operating on the streets of LA? Perfect.

From there, it took phone calls and patience and planning, meticulous planning, to get them both to LA at the same time.

“Do you want something to eat?”

Ellie could only shake her head; she was far too nervous.

“Are you sure? You know I’ve been working on some stuff.”

“No, thank you. I’m just anxious.”

Vaughn smiled softly at her. “There is no reason to be worried. He is going to be ecstatic to see you.”

“I hope-” Ellie trailed off, interrupted by the doorbell. She took a deep breath and nodded. She was ready.

She held her breath as Vaughn opened the door. “Hey, cuz!”

“Hey, Vaughn.” She could hear the footsteps coming into the house and watched, eagerly, as he stepped into the living room. He hadn’t turned away from Vaughn, hadn’t seen her yet, so she could look all she wanted. She could study the hair that curled around his ears, falling like waves around the face that haunted her dreams. She could study the eyes, soft, kind, the same eyes that watched out for her in her weakest moments, protecting her at his own expense. She could study his arms, the ones that held her so gently at the prom, so close underneath the stars on their last night together. She could study him, all of him, everything she had missed in two years, everything she couldn’t forget. “How are you…”

He trailed off, turning, his mouth dropping open before curving into a brilliant smile. She let out the breath she was holding.

“Troublemaker?”

Her feet moved of their own accord, crossing the room in an instant and flying into his arms, squeezing him to her so tightly she could feel the spark plug necklace digging into her chest.

She couldn’t find the words to say as he looked down at her.

“Oh my God. What are you doing here?” Apparently neither could he.

She bunched her hands in the jean jacket. “This was my present to me. All I wanted was to see you.”

He smiled, warm, eyes tracing her face as if it held the secrets of the universe. “It is today, isn’t it? Happy Birthday, Ellie.”

She just pulled him closer. Now that she finally found him again, she was never letting him go.


End file.
